D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: "New Wizard"

"The paramount collector of spells."

Open your spellbooks, everybody. Today we get a Wizard video.

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The last version of the class was in the UA Playtest 7 package (PT7). It's not clear how much they'll say here. Of the base class, I am hoping that they have recanted the level 5 ability, Memorize Spell (or perhaps shifted it to needing a short rest). They've said that the PHB will get clearer rules for how illusions work -- maybe they'll talk about that? Other than that, I think the most they can do is show us some revised spells: Will the revised version of Counterspell be kept? Any surprise Necromancy reveals? Let's find out.

OVERVIEW

• "the paramount collector of spells": "many" of new spells are for the wizard.
• As in PT7: cantrip change after long rest (level 1); scholar -- expertise in an academic field (at 2)
• NO MENTION OF ARCANE RECOVERY
• NEW: Ritual Adept broken out as a new class feature. They can cast spells in their spellbook, as before, but here ID'd as a new feature.
• NEW: Memorize Spell at 5: you can swap a spell after short rest.
• Each subclass gets a new version of Savant: free spells in spellbook of preferred school. 2 free spells of favored class, and a new spell for each spell level (so every 2 levels, as in the playtest. This isn't what is said in the video, but has been corrected elsewhere.

SUBCLASSES
Abjurer

• new abjuration spells feeds back onto how subclass functions.
• NEW: Arcane Ward at 3: resistance, immunity applied before the Arcane Ward.
• NEW: Projected Ward a 6: your friend's resistance is applied before the ward for them.
• NEW: Spell breaker at level 10: Counterspell and Dispell Magic are both prepared (PT7 did not include Counterspell). Dispell Magic is a bonus action.

Diviner

• NEW: Third Eye at 10. As in PT7, bonus action to activate; 120' darkvision, see invisibility. NO MENTION of Greater Comprehension ("read any language")

Evoker -- "all about bringing the boom"

• As in PT7: Potent Cantrip at 3 applies to cantrips both with a saving throw or an attack roll.

Illusionist -- "we felt that the subclass needed more" (YAY)

• NEW: Improved Illusions at level 3:
  • cast illusion spells with no verbal components. (FUN)
  • illusions with range with at least 10' is increased to 60' (no-- by 60' to 70').
  • you get minor illusion cantrip, with both visual and audible
  • you cast minor illusion as a bonus action.
• NEW: Phantasmal Creatures
  • summon beast and summon fey spells always prepared. These MAY BE changed from conjuration to Illusion, and the illusory version can be cast without expending a spell slot, but the summoned version, only with half the hit points. ONCE PER DAY.
  • illusions can step on a trap to set it off (?!)
  • (replacing Malleable Illusions, which I complained about here. This is so exciting.)
• NEW: Illusory Self triggered by you being hit by an attack (not when you are targeted). As in PT7, you can get more uses by giving up a spell slot of level 2+.

SPECIFIC SPELLS

• NEW: school shift to Abjuration: no examples
• Counterspell as in PT7.
• GUIDANCE ON ILLUSIONS in Rules Glossary. E.g. How are they affected by environment?
  • spell descriptions also clarified. Rules Glossary to be discussed in future video (also conditions, areas of effects, guidance on teleportation, telepathy, "
• "being dead" to be discussed in Cleric Video. Tease...

So this gave much more than I was expecting, and it looks amazing. Playing an illusionist will now be much more clearly not a "mother may I?" situation, which (I feel) has long been the case. I think I got most of what I'd asked for in the PT feedback.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

I'm not going to be upset about Wizard getting buffed until we see if they've done anything to the hundreds of Wizard class features (which some people also call spells).

 

[Micah Sweet]

If there were about 6 subclasses for Artificer, I'd feel a lot better about the class - or if the current subclasses weren't so confining. Every armorer comes across as Iron Man and every alchemist comes across as Jekyll & Hyde with the current options. It needs more breathing room to be a full-blown class.

It would likely have it if WotC had the guts to put it in the PH with the other classes.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Crawford misspeaking is going to be the death of me. Sitting through the entire video thinking wizards were getting three spells every level, but that isn't how the Savant abilities work.

Geeze.

 

[Undrave]

NEW: Phantasmal Creatures

• summon beast and summon fey spells always prepared. These MAY BE changed from conjuration to Illusion, and the illusory version can be cast without expending a spell slot, but the summoned version, only with half the hit points. ONCE PER DAY.

What? Why??

The real world's comfort/familiarity with the words Illusionist and Necromancer makes other approach less viable.

The Illusionist makes sense, the Necromancer people want is actually the Undead Summon guy and is closer to the Sheppard Druid than the Necromancer Wizard of 5e PHB and should be a pet class.

But 'Abjurer' and 'Evoker' don't mean anything and a lot of the spell school distribution is pretty arbitrary and nonsensical.

"Wizards were fine. We made a few nip tucks and that's it "

You can order the PHB on D&D Beyond...

A 'few nips and tucks' but they gave them more spells and more ability to just cast whatever they want regardless of their subclass. Yeah right.

 

[Undrave]

"Wizards were fine, but we still decided to turn their power up to 11 for no good reason."

The reason being 'It's the Wizard' -_-

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

IllUSIONS, Michael...

I said schtick, not trick!

I'd link the clip, but I don't think Eric's grandmother would approve.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

The Illusionist makes sense, the Necromancer people want is actually the Undead Summon guy and is closer to the Sheppard Druid than the Necromancer Wizard of 5e PHB and should be a pet class.

A lot about the Necromancer might be about how they change Animate Dead, and they might need to start from scratch on the Necromancer.

 

[Kobold Stew]

What? Why??

Sorry -- perhaps the summary is unclear: the illusionist has the ability to change them to illusion, and that version may be cast once per day to produce illusory creatures with half the hit points of those from the (regular) conjuration version of the spell.

But 'Abjurer' and 'Evoker' don't mean anything and a lot of the spell school distribution is pretty arbitrary and nonsensical.

I agree.

 

[Leatherhead]

Out of this list of 4, Abjurer is the one I would have cut first. Mostly to bring back the Necromancer (which is far more iconic), but also because the Abjurer just doesn't fill the "white mage" niche that it's purported to fill, due to being entirely devoid of healing spells (save for like a few strange necromancy outliers).

The Diviner is here because Portent was OP back in 2014 (but also because the other PHB Schools tended to have basically nothing for class features), so a lot of players picked it due to lack of meaningful choices for the longest time. Portent seems to have been left in tact, so we will see if this trend continues or if the other Schools will finally have something worth having.

I've never cared for the Evoker, but people insist that Wizards be able to fill that niche, despite magical artilleries not matching well with the concept of a high-magic class and arguably stepping on Sorcerer toes. Still I don't know how popular pushing Sculpt Spells back will be, due to all the Fireball enthusiasts out there.

The Illusionist as a pseudo-Conjurer is a blast from the past I will admit, but it is a good change and at least now it won't fall into the nebulous realm of "DM may I?".

At least Memorize Spell made it in, lessening the level of system mastery needed to actually play a Wizard, which is a good thing.

But still, even with these changes, we can't tell how Wizards will function until we the spells themselves.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I'm more excited about that Glossary he teased than about any of the class stuff, not that I'm not interested in those. But I find that I'm mostly only interested in what a class can do when I set out to play one.

Yeah, I think that glossary might be a real game changer for a lot of things. Hope they do a focus video on some of the more impactful changes.